Remnants
by Noctfelicite
Summary: When darkness threatens to destroy Luminous's existence, he turns to Phantom to spare him from his misery. PhanLumi, One-shot.


_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters._

* * *

_Many paths, many seasons I have seen_

_Time has washed them away just like the sea _

_So many fates and dreams will become tragedies_

* * *

Phantom's eyes widened, disturbed by Luminous's request.

"Please Phantom, kill _me._" He whispered.

Phantom knelt on the floor, supporting Luminous. The silver-haired man clung tightly onto Phantom's shoulder, the white cloth crumpling under his fingertips. The thief could feel the mage trembling against him - In fear, or grim anticipation, he did not know. Phantom clenched his teeth.

There was no way he could kill Luminous - his treasured companion_. _Phantom pulled Luminous close, trying to soothe the mage.

"It's okay, everything will be okay. We'll… We'll find someone to help remove the curse. Freu-" Phantom swallowed. "Someone will be able to do it. Someone… Anyone." He continued rambling. Then, he panicked slightly. He could not think of anyone strong enough to remove the curse completely without harming Luminous.

"It's too late. He's growing stronger. I don't think I can keep him at bay for long. I can't move my legs any longer. Once he takes over my mind-" Dark tendrils began to coil around Luminous's body. It swished and twirled, like fascinated serpents awaiting a new power.

"No. I won't do it. I can't…" Phantom's voice quivered. He looked about wildly. _Where are the others? He needed to get help._

Luminous let out a sharp cry of pain and doubled over. He grasped Phantom's coat desperately, trying to find some sort of anchor.

"Phantom… Q-quickly. I can't hold him back. Argh!" Luminous gasped, his breathing grew faster, more frantic as he tried to alleviate the pain. It tore Phantom apart to see Luminous in such a state. He could only watch helplessly as his friend battled the malignant darkness in his mind. _**He **_was tearing Luminous apart from the inside, shattering his frame of mind and everything that Luminous had.

His memories.

Feelings.

Thoughts.

_**He **_wanted to take over Luminous completely. To do so, _**he**_ needed a new slate. A body cannot hold two souls. Ultimately, it cumulated into a battle. One that Luminous had no chance of winning.

"Please… I don't want _**him**_ to use my body for his evil. Kill _me_." Luminous begged. The mage let out another sharp cry as the darkness clawed his way through Luminous's mental sanctuary. The ebony wisps were in frenzy, like vultures attracted to a dying prey. Luminous started sobbing and hiccoughing and tears streamed down his face. He widened his eyes fearfully; his orbs had taken on a red tinge and were glowing slightly.

"No, enough. Please… I don't- I don't want to live any more. Please end this. It hurts." Luminous babbled. His pleas becoming more desperate with every passing second.

Phantom buried his face into the soft, silvery hair and stroked his back soothingly.

_It can't end like this. _

But Phantom knew that there was no return for Luminous. He hated to see his friend in such a state. The sharp-tongued magician was gone, soon to be replaced with someone more sinister.

Phantom gripped his cane tightly. His thoughts were in disarray; screaming at him to not go any further, but Phantom ignored the shrieks. With a slight flick of his wrist, the cane transformed into a sharp, thin and lethal dagger. He pressed it against Luminous's chest. Blood roared in his ears, blocking out ambient sounds. He could only hear Luminous repeating his pleas and sobs.

The black serpents, started to coil around Phantom's wrist, and tried stop him from pressing the dagger any further. It burned and seared away parts of his sleeves and hands, exposing the raw skin underneath. Luminous grasped his hand gently; his icy touch a soothing balm to the thief's burns.

"Here." Luminous murmured. He guided Phantom's hand and positioned the dagger nearer to his heart. Phantom could not trust his sight; his vision was obscured by his own tears. He could feel the soft rhythmic thumping of Luminous's heart through the vibrations along the dagger.

_And soon, even that will cease to exist._

"Remember to press hard," Luminous said. "And thank you… For thinking about me,"

Phantom had chosen the thinnest and sharpest blade, ensuring that Luminous would feel as little pain as possible when the dagger pierced. Luminous tried to twist his lips into a smirk.

"Don't… you dare follow me so soon… I'll- kick you back… if you do." Luminous's voice dwindled to a fading whisper. "Help me… Explain to Lania. Tell her that I'll miss her… very much."

Phantom forced a smile despite the wet trails down his cheeks. "Try not to miss me… And don't bore the people over there with your ideals. " Phantom paused to swallow a lump that had clogged his throat. "Do give my regards to Aria and Freud for me." He replied. It provided him with some sort of closure from the days he used to taunt and tease the mage.

Phantom took a deep breath.

_One move._

_One life ends._

* * *

Alone within the deep forests of Leafre, Phantom cradled Luminous. He ran his hand through the light mage's hair, down the side of his face and stopping at his chin. The dagger lay forgotten somewhere in the undergrowth. Phantom had tossed it aside as soon as possible. It hurt him almost physically to hold the dagger for a second more. A large drop of water fell from the sky, splattering Phantom's face and mingling with his tears.

"Thank you." Luminous mouthed. The darkness had vanished, Luminous's orbs were slowly returning to same shade of blue, afore this entire ordeal ever happened. Luminous paused to watch the rain fall. He had always observed the rain from his window, but never from below. He could almost laugh at how his first experience would be his last.

_The white mage, no longer tainted by the darkness, gave a slight smile_. His breathing was shallow, as blood poured from the wound.

_The bloodied phantom; burdened by his sin of thievery – the theft of another's life, broke down and sobbed._ The blood soaked Phantom's tunic and dyed it crimson.

_Blood can be washed off, but the mental scars left behind will never disappear._

He buried his face close to Luminous's, breathing in his scent and committing to memory the remnants of his warmth. Phantom pulled him closer and tried to shelter him from the rain with his cloak. Luminous welcomed the action; it brought warmth only a living body could provide. His body felt cold, he could imagine vines of ice coiling around his legs.

"It's okay… It wasn't your fault." The mage tried to say, but could only tug Phantom's sleeve weakly in a pathetic attempt to comfort him.

Phantom brushed his lips lightly across Luminous's forehead, down his nose then gently across his lips.

_Funny how you're the one comforting me instead, Phantom. I'm sorry for bringing you so much pain. Perhaps it was selfish of me… But, I would rather die by your hands than to live my life spreading despair to others.  
_

Luminous closed his eyes and sighed.

Phantom would never again peer into the sapphire eyes he loved so much after that.

* * *

_This burden I must bear alone _

_For many lives and more to come _

_My loneliness is worth the price _

_ I'll protect you with my life_

* * *

_HELLO WORLD.  
_

_Well, this is a one-shot fanfiction based on a sketch I drew recently. Thank you for everyone on tumblr for their comments. It made me really happy to read them. This is for Kimi, for attempting to give me feels by mentioning something about a fanfiction where 'Phantom watches everyone die and dies of depression himself.' Muahahah. Well, I hope you enjoyed this. I tried to polish it up as best as I can, although it's quite obvious that I started writing with emotions nearer to the end of the fanfiction. I'm surprised that my first pairing fanfiction would be PhanLumi. I ship it, but I ship PhanFreud much, much more.  
_

_Trivia: Initially, this one-shot was meant to be a reply on tumblr. I sacrificed half of my lesson to type it out on my phone, but deleted it by accident. (Curse tumblr for smartphones.) So I rewrote it and added more details and polished it up. Furthermore, I was trembling when I wrote this... Eep. Gah. Feels.  
_

_Song Inspiration: Yeul's theme (Final Fantasy XIII)  
_


End file.
